January 29, 2025: Swedish defense manufacturer Saab recently introduced Autonomous Ocean Core or AOC. This system allows naval commanders to remotely control ships. Use of unmanned ships is a growing trend. These ships can be transports or warships. At a recent trade show in Paris, Saab demonstrated AOC by using it to control a Swedish CB90 equipped for remote control. This CB90 was nearly 2,000 kilometers distant operating near the Swedish coast. The demonstration used the video feed from a drone about the remotely controlled SB90 to demonstrate how quick and precise the remote operations were. In wartime, an unmanned CB90 could be used for dangerous missions or simply to deal with manpower shortages.

The 18-ton CB90s are used near the coast for patrol or combat and can carry 21 troops or 4.5 tons of cargo. CB90 is 15.9-meters long. Top speed is 74 kilometers an hour and max range is 440 kilometers at cruising speed of 37 kilometers an hour. CB90 also has water jet devices for precision movement.

The crew of three operates a remotely controlled 12.7mm machine-gun as well as additional weapons such as RBS-17, a ship-launched missile which is similar to the American Hellfire missile and weighs 48 kg, is 1.8 meters long and uses laser guidance to hit targets 8 kilometers distant. Other possible armament includes 12.7mm machine-guns or 40mm automatic grenade launcher that can be operated by military passengers. CB90s are called fast assault craft even though many are used for patrol duties. The remotely controlled CB90s are ideal for escorting and leading manned ships through dangerous waters.